RALLY NEWS NO.7
End of stage 9/Sunday 10.45am
UNOFFICIAL LEADERBOARD AFTER
STAGE 9 Glantane
1st (4) Tim
McNulty/Anthony Nestor (Impreza WRC) 1.15.15
2nd (2) Derek
McGarrity/Dermot O'Gorman (Impreza WRC) 1.15.54
3rd (1) Eugene
Donnelly/Paul Kiely (Corolla WRC) 1.15.58
4th (6) Eamonn
Boland/Francis Regan (Focus WRC) 1.16.25
5th (7) Pieter
Tsjoen/Eddy Chevaillier (Corolla WRC) 1.16.56
6th (5) Austin
MacHale/Brian Murphy (Focus WRC) 1.17.59
7th (11) Denis
Cronin/Helen O'Sullivan (Impreza WRC) 1.19.01
8th (18) Colm
Murphy/Ger Loughrey (Impreza N) 1.20.36
9th (15) Garry
Jennings/Rory Kennedy (Lancer N) 1.21.31
10th (20) Aaron
MacHale/Ger McMonigle 9Lancer N) 1.22.28
In marked contrast to
yesterday’s first day conditions were warm and sunny
at the end of stage 9 Glantane. Tim McNulty stamped
his authority by being fastest by quite a long way on
that opening Sunday stage, his Pierse backed Subaru
stopping the clocks on 7.45. Pieter Tsjoen was 2nd
fastest on 7.54. Eamonn Boland 7.55. Derek McGarrity
and Eugene Donnelly 7.56. McNulty commented “It was a
very quick stage, went OK, the car, the brakes,
everything’s fine”. Second on the road Derek
McGarrity commented. “I thought I had a puncture after
the chicane. There was a lot of gravel there and a
ditch. I think it was just mud in the wheel”. Eugene
Donnelly said. “Went OK, it was a bit gravelly into
the chicane but we knew it would be like that and that
there was a ditch there”. Eamonn Boland said all was
well. While Pieter Tsjoen commented. “It was good but
we were too slow in some situations”.
Austin MacHale had a good run
but was just a couple of seconds off the pace of the
cars in front. Austin was credited with a fastest
time on stage 8 yesterday. That transpired to be a
discrepancy and in fact Tim McNulty was fastest on 8
to increase his overnight lead to 28s. Denis Cronin
in 7th made his customary slow start today
but was otherwise OK.
Colm Murphy was fastest of the
group N runners and continues to lead the category
ahead of Garry Jennings with Aaron MacHale 3rd.
Aaron was 11th overnight but got ahead of
Nigel Hicklin on that opening test, Nigel having a bit
of a whoopsie on the first corner. Stuart Darcy is now
12th and 4th in group N. Stuart
picked too soft a compound tyre this morning, the car
was all over the road but he still had a decent time.
Erik Wevers is now 13th. Paddy White 14th.
Brian O’Mahony is 15th and leading his
class in his S1600 Puma. Kevin Kellher is 16th.
James O’Sullivan 17th although James lost
quite a few seconds this morning when he had a spin at
the 2nd junction in the stage. Alan Nesbitt
is 18th and still running a standard box.
Tadgh Linehan is 19th and turned in 5th
quickest group N time this morning in his Bio-Tech
GrpN Impreza. James Foley is nearly last in the rally
following his burst fuel pipe problems yesterday. On
safety grounds he is running at the back of the top 20
this morning and he turned in a very impressive group
N time.
Some class leaders include –
Eugene Meegan leading cl.3 in his Civic. John Murphy
leads cl.5 in his Puma. Dave Randles leads cl.7 in his
Almera in the overnight standings but Dave may not
continue because of some mechanical problem with the
car. Mick Quinn leads cl.2 in his Civic. Mark Buckley
seems to be the only surviving Ka Motion contender
left. John Dalton leads the National Rally,, his times
good enough for 15th o/a in the main rally.
Ed O’Callaghan is 2nd National in his Manta
but almost 3m back. Allen Treacy is 3rd in
his Corolla. John Farrell leads the Historics in his
Escort from Todd Falvey in the Porsche 911 with Sean
Tracy 3rd in his BMW 2002 despite a broken
exhaust manifold. More news later. BRIAN & LIZ
PATTERSON www.rallynews.net
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